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ESG 1500 News Blitz

sharing environmental science through the news 

Record Water Temperatures in the Great Lakes

10/28/2020

16 Comments

 
By: ​Sophia Price
Summary: As we continue to pollute our atmosphere with greenhouse gasses, we see the increasing effects of climate change. As greenhouse gasses are trapped in the atmosphere, they collect heat, causing an increase in surface temperatures. In Michigan, climate change is effecting the Great Lakes, where water temperatures are at record highs. The Great Lakes Coastal Forecasting System (GLCFS) reports that in July 2020, the average water temperature of Lake Huron was a shocking 11 degrees above average at 72.2 degrees. This is Lake Huron’s warmest mark on record this early in the year. In addition to Lake Huron, GLCFS reports that the water temperatures in all 5 Great Lakes are 6-11 degrees above average. Slightly higher water temperatures might not seem like a pressing issue, but climate change is already beginning to show it’s negative impact. In the Western waters of Lake Erie, an NOAA aircraft has photographed blue-green algae, these blooms can make both humans and fish that come into contact with them sick. Jason Samenow, a writer at the Washington Post reports, In 2014 cyanobacteria from Lake Erie entered Toledo’s water supply. Residents were told not to drink or touch their water. The possibility of an event like this occurring again is becoming more likely, as cyanobacteria is able to grow faster in the warmed water temperatures of the Great Lakes. Humans are not the only ones affected by a rise in Great Lakes water temperature. Fish are being squeezed into a smaller region of the waters, between the surface, which is too hot and the bottom, which does not contain enough oxygen. This poses a threat to the ecosystem as fish are now competing for resources in a smaller environment.
Why we should care? The Great Lakes are the largest source of freshwater on the planet. We should care about their preservation of its waters because of all of the services they provide; food, drinking water, economic opportunity and recreation. 
Picture
Photo Credit: https://oceanservice.noaa.gov/facts/hab-solutions.html
Example Article.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/weather/2020/07/14/great-lakes-record-warm-water/ 

This article struck my interest because of the multiple viewpoints it references. With an array of expert opinions, along with those of everyday people, it was very well rounded. It was interesting to see a contrast between a swim instructor who mentions, loving the warm waters, to an expert talking about the destruction of cyanobacteria. Another thing that made this article worth the read was the amount of visual aid while reading. A wide variety of maps and graphs were used to visually obtain information. I always find it helpful to realize the impact of an issue when looking at a comparative graph. The sources of these graphs and maps were all credible and established organizations, which gave me confidence in the information I was receiving. I know that in some articles there is bias around the issue of climate change, however this article was not the case in its strictly factual approach. 
Science in Action.  
Dr. Andrea Vander Woude is a ​Physical Research Scientist at NOAA- Great Lakes Environmental Research Lab. 

​Dr. Vander Woude is a satellite oceanographer, data scientist and geologist. She has studied the Great Lakes for over 5 years to understand the physical and ecological processes that take place. Vander Woude does this through the use of her 20 years of experience with remote sensing. She works with NOAA and USGS in order to obtain further satellite imaging and stop issues from the air. Her opinion on what we can do in terms of algae blooms is to think about the choices we make that contribute to greenhouse gas production. This will weaken the link in the chain of events created through climate change and the warming of the Great Lakes. 
16 Comments
Michael VanPaepeghem
10/28/2020 11:05:47

I found this blog post to be very interesting. Personally I boat on the Detroit River and Lake Erie. The average higher temperatures to me was stunning. In terms of the cyanobacteria I believe the way to get people to act is to visually show them what's happening, the image you used is clear evidence of the issue at hand.

Reply
Izabela Lewalski
10/28/2020 11:13:54

I think that this post was interesting and I agree that we should care about the preservation of the Great Lakes. The Great Lakes are important for many reasons and I did not realize how high the average temperature has become in recent years. I liked the picture that was chosen and I think it was a good representation of the topic.

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Hunter Cook
10/28/2020 12:22:09

These numbers are truly terrifying when thinking about how the Great Lakes account for the majority of the world's freshwater. It's difficult to convince people to lobby for climate change when most of them aren't concerned with issues that don't directly affect them due to being anthropocentric. It's even more difficult because I know a lot of people who would call the picture posted in this article 'fake news' because it goes against their personal interests. How do we get everyone on board before it's too late? How do we find a moderate solution so that large corporations stop destroying our climate?

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Zhereen Uddin
10/28/2020 14:06:56

It was interesting to find out that Lake Huron has the warmest temperature records earlier this year. I know the Great Lakes is one of the largest bodies of fresh water. I agree we need to take care of our climate so these bacteria do not affect everyone in a harmful way. Also, for the fish not getting enough oxygen due to these warm temperatures is just really sad because its all really due to our mistakes. Animals should be able to live as they need to without any complications because Earth is for them too not just us.

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Heba M. Chokr
10/28/2020 20:24:23

In regards to climate change, it’s so easy to live by the motto of “ignorance is bliss” but this post shows us why we need to get out of that mindset-- because it is obvious that climate change is affecting us in our own backyard. The increase of temperature astonished me, and I was in disbelief when I had read that. There are already negative effects to the increase of temperatures, and I am once again surprised there hasn’t been any drastic measures taken to combat this problem.

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Grace Komrska
10/30/2020 18:38:25

This is such an important topic because it hits so close to home. That picture is scary to look at knowing that our precious lakes that bring us happiness and so many resources are being polluted by things that we have caused. Especially with the election coming, and the potential for new officials to shy away from the problems happening in the great lakes is very scary.

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Jenna Steele
10/30/2020 21:13:21

The dramatic change in temperature of the water and its affects are astounding to me! A temperature change of 6-11 degrees for us does not seem like a whole lot sometimes, but in the Great Lakes it has a huge impact. Seeing the Toledo already had a problem with cyanobacteria in 2014, it would not surprise me if that were to happen here in Michigan. That picture is also beautiful to look at but knowing that it is something that can potentially make you sick, makes it more eerie to me.

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Alvin George
10/31/2020 17:50:04

The sheer scale of this cyanobacteria is crazy to think about. The fact that these microscopic organisms can be seen on such a macro scale means they're so abundant in numbers. One can only imagine the hundreds of thousands to millions in that one image of western Lake Erie alone. Think about the scale of the whole great lakes. These cyanobacteria release harmful chemicals which harms humans and fish alike. These chemicals must be causing havoc in the marine ecosystems of the great lakes as a whole.

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Elizabeth Carlson
11/2/2020 09:42:45

This article is super interesting and also relevant to our state that we live in. We have one of the largest supplies of fresh water and for it to be in danger is scary. It is terrifying that the Cyanobacteria has caused areas of Ohio’s drinking water to become unsafe. I love the Great Lakes and to have areas that might not be able for public use due to the danger of the growing Cyanobacteria is heart breaking.

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Grace
11/9/2020 00:06:21

This article was super interesting to me because it just shows how serious climate change is and how urgently we need to be coming up with a solution to fix it. The Great Lakes are 20 percent of all the freshwater so they need to be preserved and climate change seems to be a serious threat to them.

Reply
Zahra Williams link
11/18/2020 14:45:44

I found this article particularly interesting because we live in Michigan and around the Great Lakes. Many of us even swim in them so to see how the possibility of a harmful bacteria spreading in the lakes. They are the largest source of freshwater and they need to be protected.

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Zane Hammoud
12/7/2020 20:19:27

Very interesting post! It is crazy that the fact not a lot of people don't stand up against mass pollution especially to our Great Lakes. I know I spend a lot of hours in the summer in those lakes and to think it could have been affecting my health sucks!

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Connor Edelstein
12/12/2020 16:57:02

This one quite literally strikes close to home. I absolutely love spending time on our local water systems, spending the day catching and releasing beautiful fish while fly fishing and enjoying mother nature. There are many types of fish that favor relatively cold water, so in the warmer months of the summer these fish (like trout) will be deep in the rivers or lakes in that colder water. With the temperatures of the great lakes increasing, I wonder how this will affect fishing conditions and local ecosystems.

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Lucas LaForte
12/22/2020 05:37:36

Over the summer, I took a trip in my van up to Glenn Arbor. It is a little town in northern Michigan right on lake Michigan. While I was there, I spent a lot of time at the beach, but noticed something a little unusual. The water was strikingly warm. Don’t get me wrong, it felt great to swim in some warm lake water, but in the back of my head, I kept telling myself that this does not seem right. The more I looked into it, the more I realize my instinct was correct. There is nothing normal about this lake being this warm! It is refreshing to see you write this article to shed light on the reasons behind why all this is happening. An increase of anywhere from 6 to 11 degrees, as you stated in your article, seems like a startling increase in temperature. This just gives us ever the more reason to push not only Michigan, but the surrounding states to act on the crisis of climate change. Our earth is worth taking care of, considering we only have one. The great lakes also hold a good portion of the worlds fresh water. It would be a shame if this cycle continues to be exacerbated.

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